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Post by WH241 on Sept 16, 2023 22:52:52 GMT
Not exactly a bus journey, but a day spent on multiple methods of public transport and one that highlighted the multiple issues but also benefits that public transport in this country faces. Elizabeth Line (Class 345) Custom House - Farringdon: Very quick journey, it's exactly what the Elizabeth Line is about. The train turned up within a few minutes and it was almost in the blink of an eye I was at Farringdon Metropolitan Line (S Stock) Farringdon - Kings Cross St Pancras: Nothing to report, just the one stop. Was effectively just my way of getting to Kings Cross. Impressed with how frequent the SSR lines are these days. LNER (Intercity 225) Kings Cross - Leeds: I arrived at Kings Cross a lot earlier than I had anticipated and as a result had a lot of time to kill. I'd overcompensated in how long I would think it would take to get to Kings Cross. I'm unsure why they don't announce the platform numbers earlier than 10min before departure. Surely having as much time as possible for passengers to board trains is the way forward rather than getting a stampede just a few minutes before. The train itself was nice, the seats were very comfortable and far better than that of an Azuma. Was a good opportunity to catch up on Netflix and to enjoy the views out of the window. Had some errands to do in Leeds throughout the day. TransPennine Express (Class 802 Nova 1) Leeds - Manchester Piccadilly: Had something to do in Manchester, and thought I might as well do it as the ticket there wasn't expensive and the return train ticket to London straight from Leeds was going to set me back near double of the outbound ticket. These 802s are very nice trains, the weather yesterday made me really appreciate the climate control and it was nice to see the hills that we were passing through. The train was full throughout with every seat reserved. It took around 40ish minutes to get to Manchester. A nice train ride apart from the fact we were waiting a while at Leeds and a 'Delayed' sign turned up with no information about the train at all. Passengers were getting restless but a few were mentioning that the train would eventually turn up as it happens frequently. All well and good having a lovely train, but I'd be fuming if this was a frequent occurrence. Our arrival at Manchester was slightly late but we did make up some time, arriving there only around 15 minutes late. Had some things to do in Manchester. A train ticket back from Manchester with Avanti also was going to set me back a small future so while planning the trip I decided to get home another cheaper way. Metrolink (Bombardier M5000) Manchester Piccadilly - Cornbrook, Cornbrook - Wythenshawe Park, Wythenshawe Park - Manchester Airport: Had a few smaller trips on this to get to Manchester Airport while knocking off things I had to get done while up North. Have to say the Metrolink network is superb and has always been there for me in Manchester. An amazing service and can't wait for everything to be integrated into the Bee Network when the time comes. My favourite feature on this is something small, but something that does make a difference and that's the ability to effectively 'pre-book' a door to automatically open at a stop by pressing the open button while the tram is still moving. It's such a small feature but saves that extra second that can make all the difference. The only complaint I'd have is that at some cases the tram can feel excessively slow, but I'd imagine with the intensity of services in the centre they have to keep to speed to ensure that there's not massive queues at the tram stops. British Airways (Airbus A320-200) Manchester Airport Terminal 3 - London Heathrow Terminal 5: This was far cheaper than the train was going to be, took me 10 minutes at most to clear security and for me to have enough time to grab a bite to eat at KFC while in the airport. The flight was delayed leaving London, with the plane only arriving at around 8pm which was the scheduled departure. The crew did an amazing job turning around the flight in that quick time and also the ground staff for getting the plane cleaned really quickly. We left at 20:25 and arrived in London at 21:17. Had a straight flight path in and straight into Terminal 5a, there as a slight delay connecting the bridge but I stepped off the aircraft at 21:25 and I was out of the airport at 21:27. Domestic landings are far easier with no need to clear customs and if you only have cabin baggage you're straight out of the door. Did keep a vague track of the competing train being the 20:15 off Piccadilly which didn't arrive in London until an hour earlier, and that's bearing in mind my flight was delayed. Unless you're on the very far outskirts of North London it's clear the plane is what's going to be the faster option, and in this case considerably cheaper too. In theory you'd only need to be at the airport around half an hour prior to departure depending on security queues which isn't going to be much different (I'd hope) to the advance timing people give to arriving at a train station. Not to mention my flight was a night one, so the majority of the passengers were London bound with only a few connecting onto other destinations such as Abuja and Jo'burg which are late night departures out of Heathrow. Not to mention we got served a snack and a drink complimentary too. Elizabeth Line (Class 345) Heathrow Terminal 5 - Ilford: Nothing special, was a relatively fast journey as we went non stop from H&H to West Ealing. Route EL1 (LT9**) Ilford Hill - Thames View/Christ Church: Can't have a day out without using a bus at least once! Nothing too special about this but was a nice quick journey from Ilford. I don't do out of London UK trips often, but this simply showed the issues transport faces. Ticketing is too complicated and the rail fares cost far too much money, yet a plane which burns tonnes of fuel can provide a cheaper ticket than a train which runs on electricity. There's some chronic unreliability in the North with both TPE and Northern. Also it presents a very valid case for HS2, the plane was so much quicker to a point it negated the security queues and the travel to Heathrow. If HS2 was running the train would undeniably be the faster option and the more easier option. The Elizabeth Line has revolutionised journey times, making Heathrow a far more connected airport and one that's so much faster to now get to from Central London, and also from the outer sections of London. This is probably one of the most impressive days travel I have read on here! |
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Post by ServerKing on Sept 17, 2023 6:00:28 GMT
Very impressive journey! Friday was spent working in Luxembourg, where every bus and tram is free  even rail journeys within the country to the borders are heap with a national travelcard. T1 tram from Nationalbibliotheik stop to Luxexpo (cinema and shopping complex) where I walked 100m round the corner and took the 16 bus to Luxembourg Airport. Luxair DeHavilland Q400 Turboprop plane (tiny aircraft, but surprisingly fast) took me to London City Airport. Could have caught a bus to Stratford then a train to Tottenham Hale but picked an Uber at the other end. He did drop me by my local bus stop on Lordship Lane though  Saturday, I used more buses and the tube for daughters' hospital appointment. 243 (HV339) to Wood Green, fairly quick apart from roadworks by the Crown Court. Piccadilly Line only running to Hyde Park Corner, cannot think of a more useless terminus for anyone trying to get to Heathrow. Perhaps SW8 put in some sterling work on Rail Replacement in a YouTube bus thrash video  Piccadilly to Finsbury Park, Victoria Line to Warren Street. I swear the noise in the tunnels has gotten louder with the new continuous welded rail After appointment (and trip to McDonalds) Warren Street to Seven Sisters in amongst Spurs fans (team left it late against Sheffield United until the 99th minute to win the game and even Richarlison scored ) and ironically HV339 which seemed to be stalking me, was the bus that took us home On Monday, it will be back to DWs on the 123 then train to Liverpool Street from Tottenham Hale for work this week... |
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Post by borneobus on Sept 17, 2023 6:52:42 GMT
Very impressive journey! Friday was spent working in Luxembourg, where every bus and tram is free even rail journeys within the country to the borders are heap with a national travelcard. T1 tram from Nationalbibliotheik stop to Luxexpo (cinema and shopping complex) where I walked 100m round the corner and took the 16 bus to Luxembourg Airport. Luxair DeHavilland Q400 Turboprop plane (tiny aircraft, but surprisingly fast) took me to London City Airport. Could have caught a bus to Stratford then a train to Tottenham Hale but picked an Uber at the other end. He did drop me by my local bus stop on Lordship Lane though Saturday, I used more buses and the tube for daughters' hospital appointment. 243 (HV339) to Wood Green, fairly quick apart from roadworks by the Crown Court. Piccadilly Line only running to Hyde Park Corner, cannot think of a more useless terminus for anyone trying to get to Heathrow. Perhaps SW8 put in some sterling work on Rail Replacement in a YouTube bus thrash video Piccadilly to Finsbury Park, Victoria Line to Warren Street. I swear the noise in the tunnels has gotten louder with the new continuous welded rail After appointment (and trip to McDonalds) Warren Street to Seven Sisters in amongst Spurs fans (team left it late against Sheffield United until the 99th minute to win the game and even Richarlison scored ) and ironically HV339 which seemed to be stalking me, was the bus that took us home On Monday, it will be back to DWs on the 123 then train to Liverpool Street from Tottenham Hale for work this week... Tiny? It's got 11 more seats than the DW you'll be travelling on Monday morning to Tottenham Hale has! Hope it was a successful trip to LUX, and more importantly that Saturday was successful. |
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Post by LondonNorthern on Sept 17, 2023 7:59:07 GMT
Not exactly a bus journey, but a day spent on multiple methods of public transport and one that highlighted the multiple issues but also benefits that public transport in this country faces. Elizabeth Line (Class 345) Custom House - Farringdon: Very quick journey, it's exactly what the Elizabeth Line is about. The train turned up within a few minutes and it was almost in the blink of an eye I was at Farringdon Metropolitan Line (S Stock) Farringdon - Kings Cross St Pancras: Nothing to report, just the one stop. Was effectively just my way of getting to Kings Cross. Impressed with how frequent the SSR lines are these days. LNER (Intercity 225) Kings Cross - Leeds: I arrived at Kings Cross a lot earlier than I had anticipated and as a result had a lot of time to kill. I'd overcompensated in how long I would think it would take to get to Kings Cross. I'm unsure why they don't announce the platform numbers earlier than 10min before departure. Surely having as much time as possible for passengers to board trains is the way forward rather than getting a stampede just a few minutes before. The train itself was nice, the seats were very comfortable and far better than that of an Azuma. Was a good opportunity to catch up on Netflix and to enjoy the views out of the window. Had some errands to do in Leeds throughout the day. TransPennine Express (Class 802 Nova 1) Leeds - Manchester Piccadilly: Had something to do in Manchester, and thought I might as well do it as the ticket there wasn't expensive and the return train ticket to London straight from Leeds was going to set me back near double of the outbound ticket. These 802s are very nice trains, the weather yesterday made me really appreciate the climate control and it was nice to see the hills that we were passing through. The train was full throughout with every seat reserved. It took around 40ish minutes to get to Manchester. A nice train ride apart from the fact we were waiting a while at Leeds and a 'Delayed' sign turned up with no information about the train at all. Passengers were getting restless but a few were mentioning that the train would eventually turn up as it happens frequently. All well and good having a lovely train, but I'd be fuming if this was a frequent occurrence. Our arrival at Manchester was slightly late but we did make up some time, arriving there only around 15 minutes late. Had some things to do in Manchester. A train ticket back from Manchester with Avanti also was going to set me back a small future so while planning the trip I decided to get home another cheaper way. Metrolink (Bombardier M5000) Manchester Piccadilly - Cornbrook, Cornbrook - Wythenshawe Park, Wythenshawe Park - Manchester Airport: Had a few smaller trips on this to get to Manchester Airport while knocking off things I had to get done while up North. Have to say the Metrolink network is superb and has always been there for me in Manchester. An amazing service and can't wait for everything to be integrated into the Bee Network when the time comes. My favourite feature on this is something small, but something that does make a difference and that's the ability to effectively 'pre-book' a door to automatically open at a stop by pressing the open button while the tram is still moving. It's such a small feature but saves that extra second that can make all the difference. The only complaint I'd have is that at some cases the tram can feel excessively slow, but I'd imagine with the intensity of services in the centre they have to keep to speed to ensure that there's not massive queues at the tram stops. British Airways (Airbus A320-200) Manchester Airport Terminal 3 - London Heathrow Terminal 5: This was far cheaper than the train was going to be, took me 10 minutes at most to clear security and for me to have enough time to grab a bite to eat at KFC while in the airport. The flight was delayed leaving London, with the plane only arriving at around 8pm which was the scheduled departure. The crew did an amazing job turning around the flight in that quick time and also the ground staff for getting the plane cleaned really quickly. We left at 20:25 and arrived in London at 21:17. Had a straight flight path in and straight into Terminal 5a, there as a slight delay connecting the bridge but I stepped off the aircraft at 21:25 and I was out of the airport at 21:27. Domestic landings are far easier with no need to clear customs and if you only have cabin baggage you're straight out of the door. Did keep a vague track of the competing train being the 20:15 off Piccadilly which didn't arrive in London until an hour later, and that's bearing in mind my flight was delayed. Unless you're on the very far outskirts of North London it's clear the plane is what's going to be the faster option, and in this case considerably cheaper too. In theory you'd only need to be at the airport around half an hour prior to departure depending on security queues which isn't going to be much different (I'd hope) to the advance timing people give to arriving at a train station. Not to mention my flight was a night one, so the majority of the passengers were London bound with only a few connecting onto other destinations such as Abuja and Jo'burg which are late night departures out of Heathrow. Not to mention we got served a snack and a drink complimentary too. Elizabeth Line (Class 345) Heathrow Terminal 5 - Ilford: Nothing special, was a relatively fast journey as we went non stop from H&H to West Ealing. Route EL1 (LT9**) Ilford Hill - Thames View/Christ Church: Can't have a day out without using a bus at least once! Nothing too special about this but was a nice quick journey from Ilford. I don't do out of London UK trips often, but this simply showed the issues transport faces. Ticketing is too complicated and the rail fares cost far too much money, yet a plane which burns tonnes of fuel can provide a cheaper ticket than a train which runs on electricity. There's some chronic unreliability in the North with both TPE and Northern. Also it presents a very valid case for HS2, the plane was so much quicker to a point it negated the security queues and the travel to Heathrow. If HS2 was running the train would undeniably be the faster option and the more easier option. The Elizabeth Line has revolutionised journey times, making Heathrow a far more connected airport and one that's so much faster to now get to from Central London, and also from the outer sections of London. What an excellent day out! Sounds like you got up to a lot. I think that is an excellent take on the problems that the railway system in this country faces, we must do better when it comes to long distance train travel. I used Avanti last weekend for a day out (perhaps I’ll do a journey report ) but they are insanely expensive for an operator that has a monopoly on the entire WCML. I’ve said this before but I do think proper renationalisation is the way to go when it comes to where the rail network falls short (high fares, low quality service). Honestly I don’t blame you for flying. As for Metrolink, they are absolutely incredible and are continuing to expand. They’re also wanting to take on existing lines operated by Northern (Glossop line, Manchester to Wigan Wallgate) which would no doubt ease congestion at Manchester Piccadilly and particularly with the latter, the Castlefield Corridor. I think the Metrolink is an excellent success story, and really shows that we need more tram networks across the UK. |
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Post by Eastlondoner62 on Sept 17, 2023 17:20:00 GMT
Not exactly a bus journey, but a day spent on multiple methods of public transport and one that highlighted the multiple issues but also benefits that public transport in this country faces. Elizabeth Line (Class 345) Custom House - Farringdon: Very quick journey, it's exactly what the Elizabeth Line is about. The train turned up within a few minutes and it was almost in the blink of an eye I was at Farringdon Metropolitan Line (S Stock) Farringdon - Kings Cross St Pancras: Nothing to report, just the one stop. Was effectively just my way of getting to Kings Cross. Impressed with how frequent the SSR lines are these days. LNER (Intercity 225) Kings Cross - Leeds: I arrived at Kings Cross a lot earlier than I had anticipated and as a result had a lot of time to kill. I'd overcompensated in how long I would think it would take to get to Kings Cross. I'm unsure why they don't announce the platform numbers earlier than 10min before departure. Surely having as much time as possible for passengers to board trains is the way forward rather than getting a stampede just a few minutes before. The train itself was nice, the seats were very comfortable and far better than that of an Azuma. Was a good opportunity to catch up on Netflix and to enjoy the views out of the window. Had some errands to do in Leeds throughout the day. TransPennine Express (Class 802 Nova 1) Leeds - Manchester Piccadilly: Had something to do in Manchester, and thought I might as well do it as the ticket there wasn't expensive and the return train ticket to London straight from Leeds was going to set me back near double of the outbound ticket. These 802s are very nice trains, the weather yesterday made me really appreciate the climate control and it was nice to see the hills that we were passing through. The train was full throughout with every seat reserved. It took around 40ish minutes to get to Manchester. A nice train ride apart from the fact we were waiting a while at Leeds and a 'Delayed' sign turned up with no information about the train at all. Passengers were getting restless but a few were mentioning that the train would eventually turn up as it happens frequently. All well and good having a lovely train, but I'd be fuming if this was a frequent occurrence. Our arrival at Manchester was slightly late but we did make up some time, arriving there only around 15 minutes late. Had some things to do in Manchester. A train ticket back from Manchester with Avanti also was going to set me back a small future so while planning the trip I decided to get home another cheaper way. Metrolink (Bombardier M5000) Manchester Piccadilly - Cornbrook, Cornbrook - Wythenshawe Park, Wythenshawe Park - Manchester Airport: Had a few smaller trips on this to get to Manchester Airport while knocking off things I had to get done while up North. Have to say the Metrolink network is superb and has always been there for me in Manchester. An amazing service and can't wait for everything to be integrated into the Bee Network when the time comes. My favourite feature on this is something small, but something that does make a difference and that's the ability to effectively 'pre-book' a door to automatically open at a stop by pressing the open button while the tram is still moving. It's such a small feature but saves that extra second that can make all the difference. The only complaint I'd have is that at some cases the tram can feel excessively slow, but I'd imagine with the intensity of services in the centre they have to keep to speed to ensure that there's not massive queues at the tram stops. British Airways (Airbus A320-200) Manchester Airport Terminal 3 - London Heathrow Terminal 5: This was far cheaper than the train was going to be, took me 10 minutes at most to clear security and for me to have enough time to grab a bite to eat at KFC while in the airport. The flight was delayed leaving London, with the plane only arriving at around 8pm which was the scheduled departure. The crew did an amazing job turning around the flight in that quick time and also the ground staff for getting the plane cleaned really quickly. We left at 20:25 and arrived in London at 21:17. Had a straight flight path in and straight into Terminal 5a, there as a slight delay connecting the bridge but I stepped off the aircraft at 21:25 and I was out of the airport at 21:27. Domestic landings are far easier with no need to clear customs and if you only have cabin baggage you're straight out of the door. Did keep a vague track of the competing train being the 20:15 off Piccadilly which didn't arrive in London until an hour later, and that's bearing in mind my flight was delayed. Unless you're on the very far outskirts of North London it's clear the plane is what's going to be the faster option, and in this case considerably cheaper too. In theory you'd only need to be at the airport around half an hour prior to departure depending on security queues which isn't going to be much different (I'd hope) to the advance timing people give to arriving at a train station. Not to mention my flight was a night one, so the majority of the passengers were London bound with only a few connecting onto other destinations such as Abuja and Jo'burg which are late night departures out of Heathrow. Not to mention we got served a snack and a drink complimentary too. Elizabeth Line (Class 345) Heathrow Terminal 5 - Ilford: Nothing special, was a relatively fast journey as we went non stop from H&H to West Ealing. Route EL1 (LT9**) Ilford Hill - Thames View/Christ Church: Can't have a day out without using a bus at least once! Nothing too special about this but was a nice quick journey from Ilford. I don't do out of London UK trips often, but this simply showed the issues transport faces. Ticketing is too complicated and the rail fares cost far too much money, yet a plane which burns tonnes of fuel can provide a cheaper ticket than a train which runs on electricity. There's some chronic unreliability in the North with both TPE and Northern. Also it presents a very valid case for HS2, the plane was so much quicker to a point it negated the security queues and the travel to Heathrow. If HS2 was running the train would undeniably be the faster option and the more easier option. The Elizabeth Line has revolutionised journey times, making Heathrow a far more connected airport and one that's so much faster to now get to from Central London, and also from the outer sections of London. What an excellent day out! Sounds like you got up to a lot. I think that is an excellent take on the problems that the railway system in this country faces, we must do better when it comes to long distance train travel. I used Avanti last weekend for a day out (perhaps I’ll do a journey report ) but they are insanely expensive for an operator that has a monopoly on the entire WCML. I’ve said this before but I do think proper renationalisation is the way to go when it comes to where the rail network falls short (high fares, low quality service). Honestly I don’t blame you for flying. As for Metrolink, they are absolutely incredible and are continuing to expand. They’re also wanting to take on existing lines operated by Northern (Glossop line, Manchester to Wigan Wallgate) which would no doubt ease congestion at Manchester Piccadilly and particularly with the latter, the Castlefield Corridor. I think the Metrolink is an excellent success story, and really shows that we need more tram networks across the UK. I think nationalisation is not the way forward, LNER is nationally operated and Avanti is on a management contract. There's no reason for the fares to be set as high as they are but they still are. It doesn't matter to Trenitalia/First whether they make money on their services or not because they do not reap any benefits, they get a specified fee for running the service. British Airways on the other hand need to make money so will do what it takes to attract passengers, and are putting forward a far more compelling offer. Prior to privatisation British Airways itself was a failing business that was turned around. If there's no way to reduce fares, then so be it. But then put the money somewhere where it's needed such as airport expansion. Because quite frankly the way this is going British Airways are going to need all the slots they can get on domestic services, if RyanAir or easyJet jump on the bandwagon and fly to any airport closer to London then it's going to be even more of a no brainer to just fly. |
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Post by ServerKing on Sept 17, 2023 17:27:33 GMT
Very impressive journey! Friday was spent working in Luxembourg, where every bus and tram is free even rail journeys within the country to the borders are heap with a national travelcard. T1 tram from Nationalbibliotheik stop to Luxexpo (cinema and shopping complex) where I walked 100m round the corner and took the 16 bus to Luxembourg Airport. Luxair DeHavilland Q400 Turboprop plane (tiny aircraft, but surprisingly fast) took me to London City Airport. Could have caught a bus to Stratford then a train to Tottenham Hale but picked an Uber at the other end. He did drop me by my local bus stop on Lordship Lane though Saturday, I used more buses and the tube for daughters' hospital appointment. 243 (HV339) to Wood Green, fairly quick apart from roadworks by the Crown Court. Piccadilly Line only running to Hyde Park Corner, cannot think of a more useless terminus for anyone trying to get to Heathrow. Perhaps SW8 put in some sterling work on Rail Replacement in a YouTube bus thrash video Piccadilly to Finsbury Park, Victoria Line to Warren Street. I swear the noise in the tunnels has gotten louder with the new continuous welded rail After appointment (and trip to McDonalds) Warren Street to Seven Sisters in amongst Spurs fans (team left it late against Sheffield United until the 99th minute to win the game and even Richarlison scored ) and ironically HV339 which seemed to be stalking me, was the bus that took us home On Monday, it will be back to DWs on the 123 then train to Liverpool Street from Tottenham Hale for work this week... Tiny? It's got 11 more seats than the DW you'll be travelling on Monday morning to Tottenham Hale has! Hope it was a successful trip to LUX, and more importantly that Saturday was successful. Thanks, the plane looked like a toy compared to the Boeing 737 parked next to it, and a 232 Streetlite is more spacious The assesment was for an issue connected to a heavy cold and congestion she had last winter, though the NHS really pounced on it with an appointment in September All is well. Let's see if DW419 is stil leaning heavily to the left like Jeremy Corbyn tomorrow morning if out on the 123 |
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Post by cardinal on Sept 18, 2023 11:16:36 GMT
First trip on FlixBus on Saturday.
Certainly felt more like a bus than a coach (it was a coach)
Something to do with the interior , with bright lighting and fake wooden flooring.
But was comfortable and left and arrived on time ( Victoria to Bristol)
Seemed quicker than Nat Exp. Doesn’t deviate via Heathrow which saves a lot of time. And our only stop at Reading was at a park and ride site just off the M4.
Great value for money so will use again.
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Post by wirewiper on Sept 18, 2023 11:55:37 GMT
First trip on FlixBus on Saturday. Certainly felt more like a bus than a coach (it was a coach) Something to do with the interior , with bright lighting and fake wooden flooring. But was comfortable and left and arrived on time ( Victoria to Bristol) Seemed quicker than Nat Exp. Doesn’t deviate via Heathrow which saves a lot of time. And our only stop at Reading was at a park and ride site just off the M4. Great value for money so will use again. National Express doesn't call at Heathrow either on Bristol or Cardiff runs, there is a separate route that operates Gatwick-Heathrow-Bristol/Cardiff. London-Bristol should be a highly competitive corridor as it is motorway or dual carriageway right into Bristol City Centre. |
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Post by gwiwer on Sept 18, 2023 19:11:44 GMT
should have been a train. But owing to the overnight weather the first trip down the Shepperton branch at around 05.00 ploughed into a large tree across the line disabling the train and wedgind the tree beneath it.
Cue ticket acceptance by any reasonable route and limited bus replacements Shepperton to Teddington with anything that could be found. In my case a plain red (ex-TfL franchise?) E200.
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Post by cardinal on Sept 19, 2023 20:09:05 GMT
Caught a few old favourites today.
Highlights were ADE40303 on the 467, DLE30013 on the 216, 3007 on the 111, and a ride to Hook on the K2 & a decent run on the 290 with BE37047 on the bang on time 0630
Ex Staines.
The new bus stand for the 281 has been constructed next to Tolworth Station.
Saw DE1322 (UX) broken down at Heathrow (collected by recovery lorry) and 8793 (TF) broken down next to Hanworth Air Park.
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Post by londonbusobserver on Sept 19, 2023 21:41:51 GMT
Hello, everyone. I hope you are all well. This evening, I decided to board 15112 (LX09FZJ) on route 422 from Woolwich to Bexleyheath Shopping Centre. It was an enjoyable experience, and meeting some enthusiasts in person was great.
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Post by rj131 on Sept 22, 2023 22:00:57 GMT
Went to Brighton for the first time this week, and ended up getting a journey of their many StreetDecks.
Brighton & Hove’s 805 SK16GWG was quite simply one of the worst vehicles I’ve ever travelled on, even worse than the Arriva’s SWs. Utterly gutless and one of the jerkiest gearboxes and most abrupt brakes I’ve ever experienced.
I have to say Brighton & Hove’s fleet is very underwhelming and lacklustre. Just seas of endless tepid StreetDecks and Gemini 2 B9TLs. I usually like G2 Volvos a lot as but these ones were just very uninspiring vehicles in very large quantities. There were a few 17/18 year old Scania OmniDekkas around but these were all looking incredibly tired and tatty now, and I’ve never been a fan of that OmniDekka bodywork at all. Overall the blue Southampton fleet is far nicer.
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Post by busoccultation on Sept 22, 2023 22:23:49 GMT
Went to Brighton for the first time this week, and ended up getting a journey of their many StreetDecks. Brighton & Hove’s 805 SK16GWG was quite simply one of the worst vehicles I’ve ever travelled on, even worse than the Arriva’s SWs. Utterly gutless and one of the jerkiest gearboxes and most abrupt brakes I’ve ever experienced. I have to say Brighton & Hove’s fleet is very underwhelming and lacklustre. Just seas of endless tepid StreetDecks and Gemini 2 B9TLs. I usually like G2 Volvos a lot as but these ones were just very uninspiring vehicles in very large quantities. There were a few 17/18 year old Scania OmniDekkas around but these were all looking incredibly tired and tatty now, and I’ve never been a fan of that OmniDekka bodywork at all. Overall the blue Southampton fleet is far nicer. I think with the Brighton Geminis you would have ride on the routes that goes out of the city itself to enjoy the most of it as most of their native ones are Topodyn enabled like the 12reg Regency batch which are generally regarded as one of the best B9TL's in the country and also on the Coaster routes which has a few of them alongside the usual Streetdecks. |
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Post by greenboy on Sept 23, 2023 6:10:35 GMT
Went to Brighton for the first time this week, and ended up getting a journey of their many StreetDecks. Brighton & Hove’s 805 SK16GWG was quite simply one of the worst vehicles I’ve ever travelled on, even worse than the Arriva’s SWs. Utterly gutless and one of the jerkiest gearboxes and most abrupt brakes I’ve ever experienced. I have to say Brighton & Hove’s fleet is very underwhelming and lacklustre. Just seas of endless tepid StreetDecks and Gemini 2 B9TLs. I usually like G2 Volvos a lot as but these ones were just very uninspiring vehicles in very large quantities. There were a few 17/18 year old Scania OmniDekkas around but these were all looking incredibly tired and tatty now, and I’ve never been a fan of that OmniDekka bodywork at all. Overall the blue Southampton fleet is far nicer. I think with the Brighton Geminis you would have ride on the routes that goes out of the city itself to enjoy the most of it as most of their native ones are Topodyn enabled like the 12reg Regency batch which are generally regarded as one of the best B9TL's in the country and also on the Coaster routes which has a few of them alongside the usual Streetdecks. Yes I think the Regency branded buses to Tunbridge Wells etc are pretty decent, the Streetdecks though all seem pretty awful. |
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Post by londonbusobserver on Sept 23, 2023 17:37:03 GMT
Hello, everyone! I hope you're all doing well. I had the pleasure of attending the Metrobus Orpington Garage 40th Anniversary Open Day, and it was a fantastic experience. One of the highlights of the Open Day was boarding NV171 (R371LGH) from Orpington Garage to Forestdale and back. I cherished every moment of the journey, as the sound of the Volvo Olympian engine brought back fond memories of my childhood when Volvo Olympian buses were a common sight in London.
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even rail journeys within the country to the borders are heap with a national travelcard. T1 tram from Nationalbibliotheik stop to Luxexpo (cinema and shopping complex) where I walked 100m round the corner and took the 16 bus to Luxembourg Airport.
